PORTLAND, Maine — Feb. 24 marks a solemn day in world history, as one year ago, Russia invaded the country of Ukraine. In the year since, it has been found to be the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, but the continued will to push forward toward victory was clear Friday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the nation.
“We have been standing for exactly one year,” Zelenskyy said. Feb. 24, 2022, he said, was "the longest day of our lives. The hardest day of our modern history. We woke up early and haven’t fallen asleep since.”
Millions around the world rallied in support of Ukraine, including many from the Pine Tree State.
Mainers jumped into action right away, whether to raise awareness, house orphans and escapees, or travel abroad to provide aid to those in need. NEWS CENTER Maine spoke to them in the months since, as well as several political analysts, who shared their thoughts on the past year and looked to the weeks and months ahead.
Here are their stories.
Viktor Stoliarov and Nataliia Stoliarova were in Ukraine’s capital city Kyiv the day Russia invaded their country.
"I looked everywhere in the store and what was happening was very scary,” Nataliia remembered. “I went home. I was home until the evening. There was a lot of shooting and then explosions. I went to hide in the bathroom with the cat."
The husband and wife made the difficult decision to leave their country months after the war started.
Viktor and Nataliia said they packed up everything they could and got a ride to Lviv, Ukraine. From there, they took a 10-hour bus to Poland and flew to the U.S.
The couple is now staying with Viktor's daughter, Lesia Noble, her husband Don, and their four children in Scarborough.
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A flag store in Skowhegan has gained national attention after supporting Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war for a full year now, selling quality flags and donating proceeds in an effort to give back to those miles away.
Maine Stitching Specialties has been selling the American flag for years. The store came across the idea to offer yellow and blue flags representing Ukraine after a customer reached out to them.
"I googled it and I saw it and said, 'Yeah I guess we could make that,' and he said, 'I'll take as big of a one as you can make,'" Bill Swain, owner of Maine Stitching Specialties, said.
Shortly after, hundreds of Mainers reached out to the store also looking to demonstrate their support for the country.
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Every week George Fox is on the slopes at Sunday River helping people with disabilities experience the thrill of skiing.
As a volunteer with Maine Adaptive, he works as a guide, sometimes using special gear to bring them down the mountain regardless of their challenges.
"It's just so much fun," Fox said. "That's part of life. Doing things for others."
But it is thousands of miles away in Ukraine where Fox found the importance of giving back in a very different way.
Fox said he first made it to the country in February 2022 almost by accident, when a trip to visit a friend in Poland was scheduled just as Russian troops were invading the neighboring country.
"I said, 'I'm going to the border. I'm going to help. I know I can do something,'" Fox said.
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One year after Russia invaded Ukraine, Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King are calling for continued support to the country.
So far, the U.S. has committed more than $113 billion dollars to Ukraine since the conflict began.
Both King and Collins vowed to continue to back efforts to support Ukrainians for as long as it takes to protect their sovereignty.
"It's because they have this tremendous will to fight for their country," Collins said. "That was not predicted. I remember reading lots of public analysis that predicted Kyiv would fall in 10 days time, and here we are a year later."
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For many people, we see the photos and videos coming out of Ukraine. But it can be difficult to really understand what is going on, and what implications the war has in the region and around the world.
Mariana Budjeryn has her Ph.D. in political science and is currently a senior research associate at the Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center.
Although she lives in South Berwick now, Budjeryn is originally from Ukraine.
We sat down with her to try and get a better understanding of the reasoning behind the war. Budjeryn said there are a lot of reasons Russia could justify its invasion.
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